Title

Collaborative Research: An Effective Way to Collect Data for Stock Assessments and Evaluate Marine Proteced Areas in California

Author Info

Dean E. Wendt, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis ObispoFollow
Richard M. Starr, University of California Sea Grant Extension Program and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

Recommended Citation

Published in Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science, Issue 1, January 1, 2009, pages 315-324.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1577/C08-054.1.

Abstract

Collaborative fisheries research (in contrast to cooperative research) is based on the intellectual partnership between scientists and fishermen and is an effective way to collect data for stock assessments and to evaluate marine protected areas. Collaborative fisheries research is discussed in the context of comanagement of marine resources and how it contributes to a more democratic form of fisheries management. Many benefits result from working together, including (1) the incorporation of fishers’ knowledge and expertise into the management process and (2) the development of shared perspectives derived through science-based investigations on the status of marine resources. The California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program was formed in 2006 to participate in the monitoring of marine reserves established through California’s Marine Life Protection Act. This program has shown that it can serve as a model for other areas that are trying to implement collaborative research and that collaborative research can greatly contribute to the realization of community-based co-management of marine resources.

Disciplines

Biology

Copyright

2009 American Fisheries Society.